Wednesday, February 22, 2017

GUEST: Jamal Joseph, American writer, director, poet, activist, college professor, and former member of the Black Panther Party and Black Liberation Army, talks about his new film, Chapter & Verse: A Harlem Story.I really enjoyed this discussion with Jamal Joseph. His life, of course, exceeds even the aspirations of his film characters: Black Panther, prisoner, and finally filmmaker and college professor. Was his view of the world wrong as a Black Panther? It doesn't seem as if his politics have changed that much, just his tactics for fighting racism and social injustice. Jamal suggested that I read Malcolm X's talk at Oxford University. Here is the speech in full.The movie, according to Jamal, was made to reflect Black experiences in the United States, not to point out what whites should be doing about it. That was a response to my question about why the film didn't show more of the racism and social injustice that has left people of color at the bottom of our economic system. White people watching Jamal's film will be aware of the forces that have diminished Black Peoples' chances of success: the segregated neighborhoods, the lucrative prison/industrial complex, and the long history of racial injustice. Here is how Black People in Harlem cope, and how they find meaning in a system that has perpetually kept them down. In fact, the white people in Chapter and Verse are for the most part kind and trustworthy. It is the racist system that is broken in this county, and both whites and Blacks must join forces to fix it if we are going to have the true peace that comes from justice.

Tuesday, February 14, 2017

GUEST: Sarah van Gelder, co-founder and editor-at-large of YES! magazine, talks about her brand new book: The Revolution Where You Live: Stories from a 12,000-Mile Journey Through a New America.

This gem of a book takes a quick look at many small revolutions that are happening in America. Each emphasis is slightly different, but they all involve some sort of local community building. Are you reading this on a computer? Well, according to Sarah, you are not really a part of this movement until you are working shoulder to shoulder with those down the block or on the next floor of the local factory. Decisions are made collectively and courage begets more courage in these miniature, alternative worlds.

Can enough people of the US begin acting outside of the capitalist juggernaut to really make a difference. It is too soon to judge that, since education is really the first step. Let enough workers know how the system works, and someday the corporate owned, two party system grinds to a halt.

A nightmare, or a chance for small communities to rise to the occasion through farming and manufacturing co-ops that take care of most local needs? Whatever the chances of success, these mostly rural initiatives show us how to start chipping away at the empire's endless wars and wanton destruction of our collective planet.

Tuesday, February 7, 2017

GUEST: Alice Rothchild, obstetrician-gynecologist, human rights activist and writer, talks about her new book Condition Critical: Life and Death in Israel/Palestine.

Dr. Alice Rothchild helps us all look at what Israel has become, a violent and racist state. She does this by writing about those who suffer from the illegal occupation, the Palestinians.

She also offers hope. Although the establishment Jewish religion in the US supports almost everything the Israelis do, a younger generation of Jews do not want the apartheid state to define their cultural and religious identity.

How can the religion support human rights, and at the same time defend Israel's continued occupation of Palestinian lands? Dr. Rothchild cites PTSD from the Holocaust. The older generation who lived through the Nazi genocide can't really come to terms with what Israel has become. "Progressive except for Israel" is a symptom of fearful and dysfunctional thinking. Groups like Jewish Voice for Peace offer a way to support Israel without accepting Zionism with its ethnic cleansing and racist brutality.

CLASS WARS BLOG

Class Wars Blog is an inside look at the production of Activist Radio: what went right, what went wrong, and what got left out. In fact, we plan to post just about anything we feel is interesting, including listeners' comments.